MSN vs Accelerated 2 Year BSN

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hello,

I have a question regarding my particular approach for applying for nursing programs.

I have been serving as a Community HealthCorps member for the last two years at a health clinic in New York, and have decided that nursing would be a great fit in terms of what I want out of a job in the medical field, and in terms of my overall personality and work ethic.

That being said, I have a Bachelor's of Science in Biotechnology, and am planning to take the three pre-requisite courses I'm missing for the New York based programs I'm interested in (not all programs require all 3 courses however, but just as a fail safe) include: Nutrition, Statistics, and Lifespan Psychology.

I had a 3.6 GPA, was heavily involved in extracurricular activities (Jazz Band, hospital volunteering, treasurer for two clubs, DJ), and have two years of Community HealthCorps experience in addition to helping out at a soup kitchen on Saturdays.

I plan on going the NurseCorps route for the RN option, but also would like to do HealthCorps for the NP route since I already work at a Community Health Center, and could definitely see myself working for 2 years after I graduate to fulfill that commitment.

My only issue is if I should go straight to the MSN as an NP, or go for the RN instead.

An NP at one of the Network's site had gone the MSN route through Columbia University and completed it in 1 year, and is now working as an NP. She told me that its very ivy / snobby school dependent to be able to work as a nurse in New York.

Thanks for reading my post! :)

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I'm confused by a few things in your post - 2 years is the standard length of a BSN, accelerated BSN programs are generally a year to a year and a half, you must be an RN before you can begin any NP program, even in direct-entry MSN programs you earn your RN before beginning advanced practice education and clinical hours. Completing an NP program in one year is only possible if you already have a MSN in another specialization.

To answer your question it is not possible to go straight to NP without first earning your RN license.

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Oh I gotcha. Yeah, I think the NP I mentioned earlier received her RN in a year, and then obtained the NP license afterwards with the same program.

Thank you for answering that particular question.

In that case, are there any combined programs for a non-nursing student like me that I should consider for the MSN other than Columbia?

Because on the Accelerated RN degree side of things, I'm considering: SUNY Downstate, CUNY Hunter, LIU Brooklyn, NYU, and Pace.

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Also, what is everyone's opinion on being a travel nurse?

I thought the prospect was pretty cool to be honest.

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No problem, and yes the "direct-entry MSN" programs I mentioned are specifically designed for individual holding a non-nursing bachelors and who want to get into nursing at the masters level, generally you receive your RN and and MSN, but not a BSN. Non-np direct entry programs are usually 2 1/2 years, NP programs are generally 3 years. There are a lot of these programs all

over the nation, just google search direct-entry MSN.

There are also the accelerated BSN programs which are designed for people with non-nursing degrees.

Travel nursing tends to pay higher wages, but lacks benefits because you're a contract worker. Generally several years of experience are required or at least recommended as you'll be expected to hit the ground running at whatever facility you're traveling to work at, there is also "locum tenens" which is the NP/healthcare provider version of travel nursing

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Awesome! Thank you so much, man!

Thank you so much for the info! I'm really looking forward to it. That really cleared up a lot of the confusion regarding my particular path!

My only other question is how to approach the NurseCorps and HealthCorps routes if I go for direct entry MSN programs. Should I apply for NurseCorps for the duration of the RN portion of the program, and then HealthCorps for the NP portion?

I plan on working at a community health center like the one I currently work at after I graduate or even outreach clinics because I really like working in under served communities since I've learned so much more about myself and other cultures. I definitely like the prospect of basically a free degree plus a job afterward with either "Corps" program haha :)

Sick! I didn't even know they had an NP version of traveling nurse too. Good to know that it's experience based, and the name of it as well!

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Also, I like informatics due to my first position as an AmeriCorps member (I even knew more about than one LPN I knew who was hired by a managed care company lol), and health educator since I really enjoyed giving presentations to seniors with my old boss (a now retired RN).

What specialties can I expect to have to choose from in that case? I understand through HealthCorps, you have to specialize in adultmedicine, family medicine, geriatrics, pediatrics, psychiatric-mental health, or women's health.

I found this from the website "Best Nursing Degree", but don't know if these are necessarily specialties that are available for me to choose from, or things I can do with this degree afterwards:

MSN Direct Care Roles:

  • Clinical Nurse Leader
  • Nurse Educator
  • Advanced Practice RN (APRN)
  • Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist
  • Clinical Nurse Specialist
  • Certified Nurse Midwife
  • Certified Nurse Practitioner

MSN Indirect Care Roles:

  • Public Health Nurse
  • Informatics
  • Clinical Research Coordinator
  • Nurse Administrator

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I also did Community HealthCorps for a year, and am now on my way to Columbia's MDE program (Masters Direct Entry in Nursing - 15 mo masters program for non-nursing students). I'm hoping to apply for the NURSE Corps, and I read in the scholarship guide that they offer 50% of their funds to those going to school to become an NP. I'm hopeful to go down the NP route, so it'll be nice to hear if somebody can apply to both the NURSE Corps and the NHSC scholarships.

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Did you get accepted? Please let me know how it is as an HealthCorps alumni, because that program as well as the University of Pennsylvania one seemed pretty close to what I wanted honestly.

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My plan of action so far though is to complete this AmeriCorps term in June, get a better paying full time job so I can pay for courses and the like.

I'm applying to a scholarship that might cover the three pre-reqs I need. The three pre-req's I'm missing include: Nutrition, Statistics, and Lifespan Psychology.

I plan on taking nutrition and statistics online, and possibly have to take lifespan psychology in person.

My major question though is about the loan situation. So I've been forebearing loans since I graduated in 2013. Would I be able to continue to postpone loan payments, and sign up for graduate loans if I'm aiming to get into one of the direct entry MSN programs in Fall 2017?

I don't think I can be able to get a cosigner because my mom's disabled, and my parents have been split forever, and I doubt my father (alcoholic, etc) would ever agree to do that.

Is it possible to take out loans in this situation?

And what direct entry MSN programs are truly worth it?

Thank you for your time!

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Also, when should I take the GRE this year?

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